Evaluation of the Quality of Antibiotic Prescribing in Primary Care: A Multicenter Longitudinal Study From Shenzhen, China

Background: Currently, there is no comprehensive evaluation of the quality of antibiotic prescribing in China’s primary care facilities based on longitudinal data.Methods: We randomly selected 11 community health centers in Shenzhen, China, and collected all outpatient prescriptions of these centers from 2010 to 2015. To evaluate the quality of antibiotic prescribing, we used six quality indicators for analysis, including number of antibiotics per 100 consultations, ratio between broad-spectrum and narrow-spectrum antibiotics (B/N ratio), percentage of first-line antibiotics recommended by guidelines, percentage of oral antibiotics with a duration exceeding the guideline recommendation, and new pediatric-specific indicators such as percentage of antibiotics with amoxicillin (A index) and ratio between amoxicillin and broad-spectrum antibiotics (A/B ratio).Results: During the study period, 571,362 outpatient consultations resulted in antibiotic prescriptions, which contained 706,411 antibiotics. The overall number of antibiotics per 100 consultations decreased significantly from 93.50 in 2010 to 19.98 in 2015 (p = 0.004), but the B/N ratio showed an upward trend over time (p = 0.009). In different populations and different common infections, the number of antibiotics used decreased to varying degrees, while the B/N ratio increased to varying degrees, with the most obvious change in children <5 years. The percentage of first-line antibiotics for common infections was not high, ranging from 3.45 to 44.25% during 2014–2015. The percentage of oral antibiotics with an exceeded duration ranged from 0.70 to 19.39%. Moreover, the A index and A/B ratio in children remained low for a long time, which was 0.76% and 0.01 in 2015.Conclusion: A review of antibiotic prescribing in Shenzhen, China, showed a substantial reduction in antibiotic use in primary care. However, problems such as widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, insufficient use of first-line antibiotics and low use of amoxicillin were prevalent. Improving and optimizing the quality of antibiotic prescribing, particularly in children prescriptions, will be the focus of future antibiotic stewardship in China.

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Introducing new point-of-care tests for common infections in publicly funded clinics in South Africa: a qualitative study with primary care clinicians

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029260 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. e029260 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Oliver van Hecke ◽

Chris Butler ◽

Marc Mendelson ◽

Sarah Tonkin-Crine

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Primary Care ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Western Cape ◽

Publicly Funded ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics ◽

Primary Care Clinicians ◽

Common Infections

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are routinely prescribed empirically in the resource-poor settings for suspected acute common infections, which drive antimicrobial resistance. Point-of-care testing (POCT) might increase the appropriateness of decisions about whether and which antibiotic to prescribe, but implementation will be most effective if clinician’s perspectives are taken into account.ObjectivesTo explore the perceptions of South African primary care clinicians working in publicly funded clinics about: making antibiotic prescribing decisions for two common infection syndromes (acute cough, urinary tract infection); their experiences of existing POCTs; their perceptions of the barriers and opportunities for introducing (hypothetical) new POCTs.Design, method, participants, settingQualitative semistructured interviews with 23 primary care clinicians (nurses and doctors) at publicly funded clinics in the Western Cape Metro district, South Africa. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsClinicians reported that their antibiotic prescribing decisions were influenced by their clinical assessment, patient comorbidities, social factors (eg, access to care) and perceived patient expectations. Their experiences with currently available POCTs were largely positive, and they were optimistic about the potential for new POCTs to: support evidence-based prescribing decisions that might reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions; reduce the need for further investigations; support effective communication with patients, especially when antibiotics were unlikely to be of benefit. Resources and workflow disruption were seen as the main barriers to uptake into routine care.ConclusionsClinicians working in publicly funded clinics in the Western Cape Metro of South Africa saw POCTs as potentially useful for positively addressing both clinical and social drivers of the overprescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics, but were concerned about the resource implications and disruption of existing patient workflows.

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Trends in Antibiotic Prescribing in Out-of-Hours Primary Care in England from January 2016 to June 2020 to Understand Behaviours during the First Wave of COVID-19

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics10010032 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 32

Author(s):

Nina J. Zhu ◽

Monsey McLeod ◽

Cliodna A. M. McNulty ◽

Donna M. Lecky ◽

Alison H. Holmes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Time Series ◽

Patient Outcomes ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotic ◽

Out Of Hours ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics ◽

National Quality ◽

General Practices

We describe the trend of antibiotic prescribing in out-of-hours (OOH) general practices (GP) before and during England’s first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analysed practice-level prescribing records between January 2016 to June 2020 to report the trends for the total prescribing volume, prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics and key agents included in the national Quality Premium. We performed a time-series analysis to detect measurable changes in the prescribing volume associated with COVID-19. Before COVID-19, the total prescribing volume and the percentage of broad-spectrum antibiotics continued to decrease in-hours (IH). The prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics was higher in OOH (OOH: 10.1%, IH: 8.7%), but a consistent decrease in the trimethoprim-to-nitrofurantoin ratio was observed OOH. The OOH antibiotic prescribing volume diverged from the historical trend in March 2020 and started to decrease by 5088 items per month. Broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing started to increase in OOH and IH. In OOH, co-amoxiclav and doxycycline peaked in March to May in 2020, which was out of sync with seasonality peaks (Winter) in previous years. While this increase might be explained by the implementation of the national guideline to use co-amoxiclav and doxycycline to manage pneumonia in the community during COVID-19, further investigation is required to see whether the observed reduction in OOH antibiotic prescribing persists and how this reduction might influence antimicrobial resistance and patient outcomes.

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Identifying antibiotic prescribing patterns through multi-level latent profile analyses: a cross-sectional survey of primary care physicians in Hubei of China

10.21203/rs.3.rs-16669/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Dan Wang ◽

Chaojie Liu ◽

Xinping Zhang ◽

Chenxi Liu

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Prescribing Patterns ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Prescribing Practices ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Latent Profile Analyses ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics

Abstract Background Overuse of antibiotics significantly fuels the development of AMR, which threating the global population health. Great variations existed in antibiotic prescribing practices among physicians, indicating improvement potential for rational use of antibiotics. This study aims to identify antibiotic prescribing patterns of primary care physicians and potential determinants. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 551 physicians from 67 primary care facilities in Hubei selected through random cluster sampling, tapping into their knowledge, attitudes and prescribing practices toward antibiotics. Prescriptions (n=501,072) made by the participants from 1 January to 31 March 2018 were extracted from the medical records system. Seven indicators were calculated for each prescriber: average number of medicines per prescription, average number of antibiotics per prescription, percentage of prescriptions containing antibiotics, percentage of antibiotic prescriptions containing broad-spectrum antibiotics, percentage of antibiotic prescriptions containing parenteral administered antibiotics, percentage of antibiotic prescriptions containing restricted antibiotics, and percentage of antibiotic prescriptions containing antibiotics included in the WHO “Watch and Reserve” list. Two-level latent profile analyses were performed to identify the antibiotic prescribing patterns of physicians based on those indicators. Multi-nominal logistic regression models were established to identify determinants with the antibiotic prescribing patterns. Results On average, each primary care physician issued 909 (ranging from 100 to 11941 with a median of 474) prescriptions over the study period. The mean percentage of prescriptions containing antibiotics issued by the physicians reached 52.19% (SD=17.20%). Of those antibiotic prescriptions, an average of 82.29% (SD=15.83%) contained broad-spectrum antibiotics; 71.92% (SD=21.42%) contained parenteral administered antibiotics; 23.52% (SD=19.12%) contained antibiotics restricted by the regional government; and 67.74% (SD=20.98%) contained antibiotics listed in the WHO “Watch and Reserve” list. About 28.49% of the prescribers were identified as low antibiotic users, compared with 51.18% medium users and 20.33% high users. Higher use of antibiotics was associated with insufficient knowledge, indifference to changes, complacency with satisfied patients, low household income and rural location of the prescribers. Conclusion Great variation in antibiotic prescribing patterns exists among primary care physicians in Hubei of China. High use of antibiotics is not only associated with knowledge shortfalls but also low socioeconomic status of prescribers.

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The effect of primary care availability on antibiotic consumption in Hungary: a population based panel study using unfilled general practices

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028233 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. e028233 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aniko Biro ◽

Peter Elek

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Antibiotic Consumption ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Narrow Spectrum ◽

Days Of Therapy ◽

Prescribing Behaviour ◽

General Practices ◽

Care Availability

ObjectiveWe analyse the effect of primary care availability on antibiotic consumption and on the quality of antibiotic prescribing behaviour.DesignRetrospective panel design, secondary analysis of settlement-level administrative panel data (n=2320 settlements, T=72 months).Participants and settingWe analyse antibiotic consumption of the population of villages in Hungary, over years 2010 to 2015. We exploit the geographical and time variation in unfilled (mainly single-handed) general practices as a source of exogenous variation in the availability of primary care. We control for socioeconomic characteristics and settlement fixed effects in a panel regression framework.Outcome measuresAntibiotic expenditures and days of therapy (DOT); consumption of narrow-spectrum and broad-spectrum antibiotics; consumption of Access, Watch and Reserve antibiotics according to the AWaRe categorisation; number of visits to the general practitioner (GP).ResultsIf the general practice of a village becomes unfilled, the number of GP visits decreases on average by 9.3% (95% CI 5.6% to 12.9%), antibiotics DOT decrease on average by 3.2% (95% CI 1.0% to 5.4%) and expenditures on antibiotics decrease on average by 2.5% (95% CI 0.3% to 4.7%). The negative effect on antibiotic consumption is stronger in settlements where secondary care is less available, and where antibiotics were previously overprescribed. The quality of prescribing behaviour measured by the relative changes in the narrow-spectrum vs broad-spectrum as well as the Access versus Watch and Reserve antibiotics deteriorates significantly as a consequence of worse primary care availability.ConclusionsLimited availability of primary care reduces the consumption of antibiotics and at the same time impairs the quality of prescriptions through a decrease of the number of doctor-patient encounters.

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921. Antibiotic Prescribing for Children in Family Medicine Clinics Within a Practice Research Network

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofy209.062 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. S27-S27

Author(s):

Nicole Poole ◽

Matthew Kronman ◽

Jeffrey S Gerber ◽

Laura-Mae Baldwin ◽

Danielle Zerr

Keyword(s):

Family Medicine ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Acute Otitis Media ◽

Community Acquired Pneumonia ◽

Research Network ◽

Practice Research ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

First Line ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics ◽

Tract Infections

Abstract Background Family medicine clinics provide care for one-third of US children, yet comprehensive data about antibiotic prescribing in this patient population are lacking. We aimed to characterize antibiotic prescribing for children in family medicine clinics. Methods A retrospective cohort of patients aged 0–17 years with a visit to a family medicine clinic within the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI) Region Practice and Research Network (WPRN) from January 1, 2014 to April 30, 2017 was studied. Patients with complex chronic conditions were excluded. We defined narrow-spectrum antibiotics as penicillin, amoxicillin, first-generation cephalosporins, sulfonamides, and nitrofurantoin; and broad-spectrum antibiotics otherwise. On the basis of national guideline recommendations and a previously published hierarchical classification system, we assigned diagnoses to one of the 3 tiers: diagnoses for which antibiotics were (1) almost always indicated (e.g., bacterial pneumonia), (2) may be indicated (e.g., pharyngitis), and (3) generally not indicated (e.g., bronchiolitis/bronchitis). Results We studied 20,779 pediatric patients with 97,228 clinic visits. Oral antibiotics were prescribed in 10,922 (11%) of all encounters. The median rate of antibiotic prescribing among providers was 14% (interquartile range: 4.9%–18.5%). Of all antibiotics prescribed, 51% were broad-spectrum agents. Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) accounted for 67% of all antibiotics prescribed. Of the antibiotics prescribed for ARTI, 25% were for diagnoses where antibiotics are generally not indicated. First-line guideline-recommended antibiotics were prescribed in 80% of acute otitis media, 80% of sinusitis, 68% of pharyngitis, and 31% of community acquired pneumonia diagnoses. Azithromycin monotherapy was prescribed in 52% of community acquired pneumonia diagnoses. Conclusion Specific targets for improving antimicrobial prescribing within a family medicine practice research network include prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics (particularly azithromycin), prescribing for conditions where antibiotics are not indicated, and first-line guideline-recommended prescribing for pharyngitis and community acquired pneumonia. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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Identifying Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns Through Multi-Level Latent Profile Analyses: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Primary Care Physicians

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2020.591709 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Dan Wang ◽

Chaojie Liu ◽

Xinping Zhang ◽

Chenxi Liu

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Prescribing Patterns ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Prescribing Practices ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Latent Profile Analyses ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics

Background: Overuse of antibiotics significantly fuels the development of Antimicrobial resistance, which threating the global population health. Great variations existed in antibiotic prescribing practices among physicians, indicating improvement potential for rational use of antibiotics. This study aims to identify antibiotic prescribing patterns of primary care physicians and potential determinants.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 551 physicians from 67 primary care facilities in Hubei selected through random cluster sampling, tapping into their knowledge, attitudes and prescribing practices toward antibiotics. Prescriptions (n = 501,072) made by the participants from 1 January to March 31, 2018 were extracted from the medical records system. Seven indicators were calculated for each prescriber: average number of medicines per prescription, average number of antibiotics per prescription, percentage of prescriptions containing antibiotics, percentage of antibiotic prescriptions containing broad-spectrum antibiotics, percentage of antibiotic prescriptions containing parenteral administered antibiotics, percentage of antibiotic prescriptions containing restricted antibiotics, and percentage of antibiotic prescriptions containing antibiotics included in the WHO “Watch and Reserve” list. Two-level latent profile analyses were performed to identify the antibiotic prescribing patterns of physicians based on those indicators. Multi-nominal logistic regression models were established to identify determinants with the antibiotic prescribing patterns.Results: On average, each primary care physician issued 909 (ranging from 100 to 11,941 with a median of 474) prescriptions over the study period. The mean percentage of prescriptions containing antibiotics issued by the physicians reached 52.19% (SD = 17.20%). Of those antibiotic prescriptions, an average of 82.29% (SD = 15.83%) contained broad-spectrum antibiotics; 71.92% (SD = 21.42%) contained parenteral administered antibiotics; 23.52% (SD = 19.12%) contained antibiotics restricted by the regional government; and 67.74% (SD = 20.98%) contained antibiotics listed in the WHO “Watch and Reserve” list. About 28.49% of the prescribers were identified as low antibiotic users, compared with 51.18% medium users and 20.33% high users. Higher use of antibiotics was associated with insufficient knowledge, indifference to changes, complacency with satisfied patients, low household income and rural location of the prescribers.Conclusion: Great variation in antibiotic prescribing patterns exists among primary care physicians in Hubei of China. High use of antibiotics is not only associated with knowledge shortfalls but also low socioeconomic status of prescribers.

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Identifying antibiotic prescribing patterns through multi-level latent profile analyses: a cross-sectional survey of primary care physicians in Hubei of China

10.21203/rs.3.rs-19162/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Dan Wang ◽

Chaojie Liu ◽

Xinping Zhang ◽

Chenxi Liu

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Prescribing Patterns ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Prescribing Practices ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Latent Profile Analyses ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics

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Coping With Diagnostic Uncertainty in Antibiotic Prescribing: A Latent Class Study of Primary Care Physicians in Hubei China

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.741345 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Chaojie Liu ◽

Dan Wang ◽

Lixia Duan ◽

Xinping Zhang ◽

Chenxi Liu

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Latent Class ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Behavioral Patterns ◽

Diagnostic Uncertainty ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics

Background: Misuse of antibiotics is prevalent worldwide and primary care is a major contributor. Although a clear diagnosis is fundamental for rational antibiotic use, primary care physicians often struggle with diagnostic uncertainty. However, we know little about how physicians cope with this situation and its association with antibiotic prescribing.Methods: A total of 583 primary care physicians were surveyed using the Dealing with Uncertainty Questionnaire. Their prescriptions (n = 949,181) over the year 2018 were retrieved retrospectively. Two categories of behavioral patterns of participants were identified based on latent class analyses (high vs. low openness and collaborativeness) in responding to diagnostic uncertainty. Multi-level logistic regression models were established to determine the associations between these behavioral patterns and antibiotic prescribing (overall and broad-spectrum antibiotics) for illness without an indication for antibiotics and those with a conditional indication for antibiotics, respectively, after adjustment for variations of patient (level one) and physician (level two) characteristics.Results: Most physicians reported open communications with their patients (80.96%), collected further information (85.08%), and referred patients to specialists (68.95%) in dealing with diagnostic uncertainly. More than half (56.95%) sought help from colleagues. Less than 20% acted on intuition or adopted a “wait and see” strategy. About 40% participants (n = 238) were classified into the group of low openness and collaborativeness in coping with diagnostic uncertainty. They were more likely to prescribe antibiotics for the recorded illness without an indication for antibiotics (AOR = 1.013 for all antibiotics, p = 0.024; AOR = 1.047 for broad-spectrum antibiotics, p < 0.001), as well as for the recorded illness with a conditional indication for antibiotics (AOR = 1.226 for all antibiotic, p < 0.001; AOR = 1.257 for broad-spectrum antibiotics, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Low tolerance with diagnostic uncertainty is evident in primary care. Inappropriate and over antibiotic prescribing is shaped by physicians' coping methods of diagnostic uncertainty. Physicians' openness and collaborativeness in responding to diagnostic uncertainty is associated with lower antibiotic prescribing in primary care. Interventions targeting on better management of diagnostic uncertainty may offer a promising approach in reducing antibiotic use in primary care.

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The Impact of a National Antimicrobial Stewardship Program on Antibiotic Prescribing in Primary Care: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis

Clinical Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/cid/ciy902 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 69 (2) ◽

pp. 227-232 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Violeta Balinskaite ◽

Alan P Johnson ◽

Alison Holmes ◽

Paul Aylin

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Time Series ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Interrupted Time Series ◽

Series Data ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Segmented Regression ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotic ◽

Stewardship Program ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background The Quality Premium was introduced in 2015 to financially reward local commissioners of healthcare in England for targeted reductions in antibiotic prescribing in primary care. Methods We used a national antibiotic prescribing dataset from April 2013 until February 2017 to examine the number of antibiotic items prescribed, the total number of antibiotic items prescribed per STAR-PU (specific therapeutic group age/sex-related prescribing units), the number of broad-spectrum antibiotic items prescribed, and broad-spectrum antibiotic items prescribed, expressed as a percentage of the total number of antibiotic items. To evaluate the impact of the Quality Premium on antibiotic prescribing, we used a segmented regression analysis of interrupted time series data. Results During the study period, over 140 million antibiotic items were prescribed in primary care. Following the introduction of the Quality Premium, antibiotic items prescribed decreased by 8.2%, representing 5933563 fewer antibiotic items prescribed during the 23 post-intervention months, as compared with the expected numbers based on the trend in the pre-intervention period. After adjusting for the age and sex distribution in the population, the segmented regression model also showed a significant relative decrease in antibiotic items prescribed per STAR-PU. A similar effect was found for broad-spectrum antibiotics (comprising 10.1% of total antibiotic prescribing), with an 18.9% reduction in prescribing. Conclusions This study shows that the introduction of financial incentives for local commissioners of healthcare to improve the quality of prescribing was associated with a significant reduction in both total and broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing in primary care in England.

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Evidence Update for Clinicians: Narrow- versus Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics for Common Infections in Children

10.25302/eu5.2018.10 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Tract ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Respiratory Tract Infections ◽

Acute Otitis Media ◽

Streptococcal Pharyngitis ◽

Upper Respiratory Tract ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics ◽

Group A ◽

Tract Infections ◽

Common Infections

Comparing Narrow- vs. Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics for Common Infections in Children. The choice of antibiotic to treat acute bacterial upper respiratory tract infections in children can affect both symptom resolution and the risk of side effects such as diarrhea and vomiting. The findings of a PCORI-funded study published in JAMA can help clinicians treating children for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs)—including acute otitis media, Group A streptococcal pharyngitis, and acute sinusitis—make decisions with parents about the medicine that is best for the child. The study, led by Jeffrey Gerber, a pediatrician and researcher at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, included 30,086 children ages 6 months to 12 years taking narrow- and broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat ARTIs.

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